A Taste of Innocence
by queencake
Summary: Every moment he spent with his young master he could feel the other's pure soul taunting him, seducing him, daring him to come get it, to try and corrupt it, to taste it, to defile it. His contract prevented him from harming his master, thankfully he thought, but there was more than one way for a demon to defile innocence. **Season 2 ending spoiler!** Yaoi, S/C, M for later Lemon!
1. Chapter 1

**Yaoi, Sebastian/Ciel, romance, lemon eventually, etc. etc.**

**SPOILERS AHOY!** If you haven't seen the entire anime series then turn back now! This is set after the ending of Season 2. You've been given a good and proper warning, I take no responsibility for ruining the ending for you. Enjoy otherwise!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler or any of it's characters, they belong to Yana Toboso and so on and so forth.**

A Taste of Innocence

Part One

Sebastian watched intently as his master delicately carved a tiny slice from his chocolate cake, the fork lingered on his lips as he began to work the treat around inside his mouth, spreading the flavor, enjoying the prolonged sensation on his tongue.

The boy sat with one leg crossed over the other and he propped his chin up with his elbow resting on the table, which despite being ill-mannered, still managed to look elegant. His eyes stared at nothing in particular, glazed over in deep thought.

About what, Sebastian wondered.

The boy was dressed in the fashion of the time but in a rather garish crimson red and black. He stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the more muted, modest tones that surrounded them, even against the women.

Sebastian's attire hadn't changed much at all, a black three piece suit with a white shirt and a black coat. In this day and age his uniform made him look like any other gentleman, rather than a servant.

The demon let his gaze wander from his lord to their surroundings. They sat together outside the most charming café that opened out onto a plaza. The air buzzed with the coo of pigeons and well-to-do ladies and gentlemen who were drawn in by the sweet smell of freshly ground coffee and pastries.

Sebastian had been instructed to sit beside his master, rather than stand as was his usual custom. Times were different now and it wasn't appropriate for him to stand dutifully beside his seated lord in public places like this. But for the most part his role as a butler had not changed at all - the cup of tea before his master was evidence of that.

"I don't want coffee, Sebastian." Ciel stated simply, refusing to accept the menu offered to him by a waiter. This waiter informed him that none of the cafés on the plaza served tea of any description, only coffee, his master cared not.

"But of course, my lord, please excuse me for a moment." his butler smiled, disappearing and returning with impossible speed, a tray with cake and a tea set ready to serve in hand. Money was exchanged and questions were left unasked, as per usual.

"Pour a cup for yourself." Ciel instructed. This had become another new custom for them too. Sebastian would sit with an untouched cup of tea in front of him while his master drank, just for appearances sake.

He wasn't entirely sure why but the older demon enjoyed watching the younger one eat. Demons as a general rule didn't eat because they didn't need to and they didn't derive the same pleasure from taste that humans did. Sweet, sour, savoury, they meant nothing to his senses. Souls were tasty. Souls came in a variety of flavours but none as sensational as the soul that sat across from him, a soul sealed away forever in an immortal body.

His master's human senses seemed to stay with him after his change. He didn't need to eat but he was still able to enjoy taste. Sebastian didn't know whether or not these lingering human traits would eventually fade away the longer Ciel was a demon or if they would stay with him forever.

Truth be told, in the infinity that he had existed, Sebastian had never heard of a human becoming a demon. He didn't know such a thing was possible.

Another oddity about his master's change was the ever-present scent of his innocence. It was strange enough when Ciel was still a human, that despite all he had been through, despite the sins he had committed, his soul stayed pure.

By right, when a human made a pact with a demon, they immediately tainted their soul, even if the contract wasn't fulfilled they would never be able to reclaim their purity or their right to enter heaven. His master had defied that law and now he was defying another.

Demons couldn't have pure souls, demons couldn't be innocent. It was a wonderful paradox.

They had wandered the world together for over two decades and his master had attracted the curiosity and attention of many other fiends. Once upon a time, Sebastian had to cloak his master's scent in his own, protecting his prize from others of his kind who might try to steal his meal. Like Claude. Now they came sniff him out like dogs, trying to satiate a different kind of appetite.

Demons were solitary, lonely beings. They didn't have families, they didn't have friends and they didn't have lovers. As Hannah had inferred; demons were worth nothing to one another, they were simply competition in a hunt for food. They indulged themselves in human flesh for lust and the only bonds they ever experienced were with the humans they made contracts with, up until the contract was fulfilled, then it was back to solitude until another contract was made.

So Sebastian found himself in the unprecedented position of being forever coupled with another demon.

This should have made him a laughing stock among all demon kind, he should have been humiliated but instead was the envy was any demon they had crossed paths with.

Ciel's soul was an impossible mixture of purity and sin. The sweet scent of him was ravishing to a demon's senses and this made him into a very desirable commodity.

Sebastian wasn't immune to this spell either. Every moment he spent with his young master he could feel the small demon's soul taunting him, seducing him, daring him to come get it, try to taste it.

His contract prevented him from doing any harm to his lord, so going into a gluttonous frenzy and trying to violently consume a soul that couldn't be consumed was, thankfully, impossible. But there was more than one way to defile innocence. Methods that his master had never specifically told him he could or couldn't try, if faced with the opportunity.

Sebastian snapped out of his musing and brought his gaze back to his master's face. The boy was slowly slipping the fork out of his mouth again, leaving a smear of chocolate frosting on his lips.

The servant smirked inwardly, he wasn't sure if the boy was purposely doing it for attention or if he was unwittingly being adorable and enticing.

"Master," he prompted, smiling and tapping his own mouth.

The boy blinked at him, expressionless and gave his top lip a lazily, lingering lick.

"Gone?" he quizzed, knowing very well that it wasn't.

_Brat_.' the older demon kept his thoughts to himself, his polite smile back in place.

Tenderly he licked his own thumb, propped the boy's chin up and wiped the chocolate away, intending to taste it.

"There we are, my lord."

A small hand clasped onto his before he could pull it back and a warm, pink tongue darted out to clean the frosting off the butler's thumb. Sebastian didn't allow his body or face to react as he enjoyed the hot wetness against his skin.

He stared back at his master's seductive leer before it quickly reverted back to a stoic pout. He felt a familiar twinge in the pit of his stomach and between his legs. A low growl rumbled in the back of his throat before "he could swallow it back down.

"Mind your place, _dog_." the boy spat

He released Sebastian's hand and took a sip of his tea as if nothing had happened.

'_Brat._' Sebastian thought again, a smirk shying across his face. "Yes, Master."

The butler had been the victim of flirtatious teasing like this for some time now so he was used to it.

The boy had stopped ageing during puberty and the hormonal urges that he refused to acknowledge as a human were now replaced with a demon's lust and a hunger for pleasure that no human could comprehend.

He was handling it surprisingly well for such a "young" demon, Sebastian thought but he knew eventually the need and want would be too much to resist.

Sebastian wasn't ashamed to admit that he waited eagerly for that day when his master's horniness would be too much for him to bear anymore and, with a shy and humiliated blush from head to toe, he would give the order for Sebastian to _relieve_ him.

Of course, Sebastian didn't need to be ordered to offer any relief. A mere suggestion would suffice, it was what he pined for after all but he needed to be sure that his master absolutely wanted it first. He had to be sure that he wouldn't be looking forward to an eternity of resentment, and maybe even guilt, for taking something he wasn't expressly offered.

Regardless, he wouldn't let another taste a meal that should rightfully have been his, a meal he had gone above and beyond to earn. He'd never be able to eat Ciel Phantomhive's soul but there was still the chance that he could taste it and savour it. So he spent a great deal of effort chasing away brazen predators on a nightly basis while his little lord slept.

It was during those hours, as he watched over his master's vulnerable and helpless little body, that his demon self urged him to take what he desired, take what was his and enjoy the immediate, short-term pleasure of defiling a demon virgin - consequences be damned.

But the butler in him saw the absolute trust the boy had for him and he wasn't sure he would be able to forgive himself if he destroyed that bond.

And so he waited.

It would only be a matter of time before his young master's resolve would crumble and time was something Sebastian was never short of.

Author's Note:

I'm going on the assumption that demons can (or can't) taste human food but the sensation does nothing for them, unlike Ciel who has not always been a demon and once enjoyed taste, especially sweets.


	2. Chapter 2

It is nearly 4 a.m. here, I think, roughly thereabouts. Please forgive the mistakes that may follow, I'll re-re-read it in the morning after my coffee and replace it if it's terrible. Right now my mind is filtering out the mistakes so it can sleep sooner but I really don't want to wait until morning to post this. If I start procrastinating I may never stop.

Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favorites, I really appreciate your feedback!

**Yaoi, Sebastian/Ciel, romance, lemon eventually, etc. etc.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler or any of it's characters, they belong to Yana Toboso and so on and so forth.**

* * *

A Taste of Innocence

Part Two

* * *

"Mind your place, butler." Ciel snapped.

He straightened in his seat and took a sip of tea, inhaling it's sweet fragrance. He willed his embarrassment to stay away from his face and closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to acknowledge the pretentious smirk on his servant's face. He was the master, he was supposed to be in control of this situation. What was supposed to be an exercise in manipulation had backfired on him and turned into some tasteless display of wanting. All he could do was pretend it was intentional and make sure it wouldn't happen again.

Being a demon was nothing like he'd imagined. Some parts were easy enough - you existed, you swallowed a soul once in a while and you watched the rest of the world change while you always stayed the same. He recalled Sebastian once telling him that a human lifetime went by in a flash for a demon and so far that seemed to be the case. Well, it wasn't literally a flash and he hadn't been a demon for a human lifetime yet but the past 28 years had gone by swiftly compared to his 13 years as a human.

The first few years had been a little strained, with the air being so thick between them. The older demon had been scorned and rather than being angry or contrary about it, he just seemed...sad? On a rare occasion when he caught that solemn expression in his butler's face he felt the momentary urge to apologize to him, to offer some condolence. But he couldn't do that. What could he possibly apologize for? Why should he apologize at all? None of this had been his doing, he had no more control over the outcome than Sebastian and he wouldn't accept the blame or be sorry for it.

Yes, technically it was his fault that Sebastian was bond to his side forever, whether he liked it or not but Ciel couldn't honestly say that he was sorry for that either. The day Sebastian's attitude towards his "enslavement" had changed, Ciel felt a weight lift off his shoulders and maybe his heart. He still didn't understand what exactly had happened to change it and perhaps he should have been concerned and quizzed the other about it but he didn't want to. Sebastian seemed to be content to stay with him now, what else mattered? He didn't want to chance ruining things by looking for answers he probably wouldn't like.

He didn't want to be alone forever and he knew it was highly unlikely that the older demon would have volunteered to stay by his side once he was no longer useful to him. He wasn't born a demon - if demons were in fact "born" - he didn't have the instincts or sensibilities of a demon. Alone, without Sebastian to protect and teach him, he would have perished, as much as he hated to admit it to himself. In that respect his life now was much the same as it was before.

But now, suddenly, he found himself confronted with an array of needs and compulsions he hadn't expected. Lust was the flavor of the year now. As a mortal he hadn't given much thought to the prospect of sex. He had a fiancé that he never expected to live long enough to marry and as much as he loved Lizzy as his friend and a relative, he couldn't imagine being intimate with her. He couldn't have offered her anything besides a life filled with lies, danger and unrequited feelings, until the day when he would inevitably die at the hands of his butler.

Now, said butler, was the leading man in his every fantasy. As much as he tried to weed him out of his thoughts it was impossible. He supposed it was due to overexposure. Sebastian was with him all the time, almost all day, everyday. He was the only constant thing he had so surely it was only natural that his mind would fixate on him.

He sighed and opened his eyes. Sebastian was staring right at him still, that infuriating curl in his lips.

"Look somewhere else!" the master barked. The servant obediently averted his eyes, a low chuckle rumbling from his throat.

A couple sitting at a nearby table looked up from their conversation, startled by the outburst. The woman shook her head disapprovingly. Ciel's face flushed and he cursed himself for sounding like such a spoiled, ill-mannered child. A brat. He glared daggers into the side of Sebastian's head as his tongue made a "tsk-tsk" sound.

"I'm done!" Ciel announced with a huff, the cutlery on the table rattling as he stood. Sebastian turned his head to face his lord but his eyes remained averted, as ordered.

"I'm sure the master means he is _finished_. Dinner is _done._ People are_ finished." _

With a growl the boy turned on his heels and left without another word, leaving his coat, his hat and his butler behind. If he allowed himself to speak he knew he'd end up saying something humiliating and he wasn't going to give Sebastian that satisfaction...yet again.

He walked for a while, never looking back but he could hear Sebastian fall into stride behind him. After decades of listening to those footsteps, always following behind him, he knew them by heart. He reached the steps leading out of the plaza and felt a cold drop hit the tip of his nose and then another on his forehead. He looked up and the sky suddenly gave way to a sun-shower.

As the third drop hit his face he was swept off of his feet, his coat suddenly draped over his head like a veil. Sebastian was carrying him bridal style and they were up the steps and out of the plaza instantaneously. Inhuman speed was one of the few demon abilities Ciel was actually able to access so far and he was almost able to match the older demon's pace when they practiced. But he didn't mind being carried. Picking him up in minor situations like this was something Sebastian did of his own accord, without being ordered to. Even though it wasn't necessary anymore he still did it.

In seconds they were at their hotel, instead of using the front door Sebastian cleared the building in one bound, landing on their fifth story balcony gracefully.

Sebastian sighed. Despite his best efforts his master had still gotten wet in the downpour. He deposited the boy on a chair in the en-suite, ran the bathtub faucet and went to retrieve his night shirt, never once making eye contact, as per his earlier instructions.

"You do recall that I can't catch cold anymore, right?" Ciel called after him.

"Why yes, my lord. But surely being soaked and chilled to the bone can't be comfortable for you, even as a demon. But if you'd prefer then I'll remove bathing you from my list of duties, as your butler." He chimed in that dutiful tone, knowing very well what the answer would be.

"No." came the obvious response. "I shouldn't deprive you of your _activities. _What else are you supposed to occupy yourself with all day if you have no services to provide? You'd simply vegetate. It was selfish of me to suggest such a thing."

The butler's eye gave an involuntary twitch. '_Activities?_' Like he was some half-wit child that needed to be occupied.

He knelt and grabbed the sides of the boy's waistcoat and shirt together, yanking them both up rather roughly. His master yelped as the shirt's collar got caught on his neck, buttoned up too tight to fit around his head.

"What are you doing?" He shrieked, all the snideness replaced with shock and anger.

The demon butler smirked, watching the smaller one struggle, his wrists were trapped in the cuffs of his shirt too, all he could do was exasperate himself.

"My apologies, master. Being unable to look at you seems to hinder me somewhat."

"Grr...look at me, you idiot!" His snarl was muffled by the fabric, it was quite cute and amusing Sebastian thought, now able to see his handy work.

"Oh master, 28 years and you still haven't conquered buttons." He sighed in mock disappointment. "It reflects so poorly on me as your butler and teacher."

"Shut the fuck up and get this off of me, now!" Ciel ground out, all faux airs and graces out the window, he was just pissed off now. The shirt constricting around his neck and hands felt like a straight jacket that tightened the more he tried to break free.

Before he could express his anger any further the shirt was gone and he was being dropped into the bath. The warm water hitting his skin drained the annoyance out of him immediately. His body had been colder than he'd realized, stone cold. It was only noticeable to him now as it was leaving him. Sebastian was right.

"May I, sir?" his servant asked, sponge at the ready.

"You may..." the master huffed, too tired to argue or make smart remarks. "...but no nonsense."

"If you insist, my lord."

* * *

He wasn't sure what had woken him, he thought it was his name being called but it wasn't Sebastian's voice and he wouldn't call him by name. He rolled over so he was facing the balcony door. It was dark and cool and the rain had stopped. He'd fallen asleep straight after the bath, before the sun had set. He didn't need to sleep anymore really but he liked to, he liked to dream. His dreams as a human had mostly been nightmares and he still had some nightmares but nowadays his dreams consisted primarily of himself, a certain other individual and sometimes cake. So he slept, for the fun of it.

Before he could lull himself into another dream he felt it again, something pulling him back, calling him but there was no sound. He got out of bed and walked to the balcony. He didn't even have to look for it, there it was standing on the street across from the hotel gawking straight up at him. He swallowed hard as the creature below called to him again without words or sound.

"It's alright, master. I see him." Sebastian was suddenly on the balcony too. He looked him over, he didn't seem phased by this intruder.

"How long has he been down there?" He turned to meet the stranger's stare again. He was a tall figure with dark hair, dark clothes and dark eyes.

"A few days."

"A few days? And you didn't think you should mention it to me?" The boy snapped.

"I'm surprised it took you three days to sense him, master. You really are helpless, aren't you?" The taller demon's hot breath was suddenly on his ear and neck, he'd moved from the other side of the balcony to directly behind the boy without being noticed, just to emphasize his point. Ciel suppressed a shiver.

"What does he want?"

"Hmm, he's just looking." Sebastian replied, as though that were an explanation.

"Looking at what?" Ciel asked. He hated vague answers that had to be followed by more questions.

"Well, we are quite the spectacle, the pair of us." Another vague answer.

The younger demon's brow furrowed, preparing for the agonizing task of dragging real, coherent answers out of the other. But before he could begin his verbal abuse he was off the ground and being carried back inside and laid on the bed.

"Please don't concern yourself, my lord. He is merely curious about our...particularly special circumstances. Don't let it keep you from your sleep."

The smaller demon began to protest but lost his train of thought as Sebastian started to remove his clothes down to his pants and shirt. He scooted over automatically and the butler stretched out on the bed facing him. A strong, ungloved hand pressed him to lie down, the same hand travelled up to cup his cheek and rested there. Ciel's breath caught, Sebastian's expression was calm, his crimson eyes serene with a curve in his lips. It was soothing, assuring that they were safe and there was nothing to worry about. As usual Sebastian would take care of it.

His stubborn and proud mind knew he was being manipulated into shutting up. It urged him lash out and slap the servant across the face for being so brazen and familiar but he told it to be quiet. Sebastian was keeping something from him, he would be punished for it but not tonight. He didn't want to lose the older demon's closeness, voluntary closeness that he hadn't ordered him to give. He inhaled the other's scent, it was masculine, distinct and sweet.

"...Sebastian..."

"Sleep, young master. I will watch over you, as I always do."

Sebastian exhaled, watching his master give in to sleep finally. He let his hand linger on his face, gently tracing down his temple, over long lashes and down to his dusty pink lips. He had never had the urge to kiss someone before, demon or human, man or woman. Kissing was a useful tool for manipulating humans but he had never understood the appeal personally. Here it was now though, this urge. Curiosity prompted him to lean forward until his face was mere millimeters from his master's, his soft breathing smelt sweet. Their lips met in just a peck but in that moment Sebastian felt strange. He felt anticipation and something else, something funny that he couldn't put a name to. It wasn't gratification but it was like...the promise of gratification and yet...more than just that. He wasn't sure whether he liked it or not.

His pondering was interrupted by the visitor downstairs. It was calling to his master again, trying to get him to come outside but his master couldn't hear the call anymore, Sebastian was using his own means of manipulation to defend his lord's mind.

The demon downstairs wasn't a worry to him, he could sense the other's power, it would never be able to match him, which was why it didn't try to come inside. It had stalked them for over a week and though the butler didn't want to go outside and make a scene that might attract attention from more dangerous fiends, his patience was beginning to wear thin.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note 1:** I can't help but allow for some OOCness to seep in here, the characters are reacting to situations that have yet to be addressed by the show (if they ever are) and must develop in someway because of it. I have to imagine how they would develop but I'm not Yana Toboso so...

**Note 2:** This is merely how I imagine Hell in the Kuroshitsuji universe, I'm sure it'll be very different if Yana ever explains it to us.

and finally...

**Note 3:** My use of the English language wouldn't win me any awards, grammar and punctuation are difficult for me. I apologize for any annoyance it may cause.

**Yaoi, Sebastian/Ciel, romance, lemon eventually, etc. etc.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler or any of it's characters, they belong to Yana Toboso and so on and so forth.**

* * *

A Taste of Innocence

Part Three

* * *

Sebastian watched his master as the boy surveyed the cityscape before them. They stood at the foot of a stone bridge. Dim red lanterns illuminated the way across but just barely enough to see, it was still very dark. Ciel pulled one of his gloves off and placed his hand on the bridge's wall, as if to verify that it was real. It was solid but not cold like stone should have been, it was warm to the touch. He glanced over the side, realizing there was no water below, just blackness with no definition. He looked back across the bridge and on the other side he could see the silhouettes of buildings and the faint glow of street lamps.

"This...this is it? This is Hell?"

"Yes, my young lord. A small part of it at least. The outskirts, if you will."

The butler was expressionless.

"It looks like...London..."

It wasn't what the boy had expected but now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure what he was expecting.

"Yes. My world tends to mimic yours, as demons are unable to create anything new."

"You can't create anything?"

The question was absent-minded, the boy's attention was on the city before him.

"No. _We're_ very good at copying, maybe even improving and destroying, of course, but _we_ cannot create anything."

"_We._.." Ciel repeated the emphasis, looking down at his black fingernails.

He had only been a demon for a couple of years now but how could it have slipped his mind so easily, even for a moment? He scoffed, pulling his glove back on and started across the bridge. Sebastian followed closely behind. He didn't want to be here but his master had insisted on being brought to see his new heritage. Morbid curiosity, the butler supposed.

As they neared the other side the smaller demon finally started to make out some figures and sounds. A stench assaulted his senses and he covered his face with his hand. It even smelled like London, the bowels of it at least. They walked for a bit, navigating through unpopulated passages and alleys until they came to a street that seemed to have some semblance of life in it. It looked like a slum. The footpath was littered with gaunt, sickly figures, sitting in filth, on the footpath, in alleys, on doorsteps.

"Are these...humans?" The boy asked, confused.

"No, young lord, they are demons. They're using what strength they have to maintain their vanity though, the best they can."

Vanity was something Sebastian understood well - an older seasoned-looking man would have been a more believable guise for an earl's butler but he couldn't resist sacrificing that little bit of authenticity to be beautiful. These creatures weren't beautiful however, they didn't have the strength to conjure up beauty but their current, unsightly human forms were surely a vast improvement on their revolting demon forms.

"What is wrong with them?" his master asked, no audible emotion in his voice.

"They're starving," Sebastian answered, as though it were obvious but upon receiving a glare he elaborated. "Even demon society has a class system, my lord, measured by power. Those who rule, those who serve and those who...starve. These are bottom-feeders, if you will. They're too far gone in their hunger and sloth to pass into the human world and feed. Instead they wait here for some scrap of a soul to be thrown to them," a very brief flicker of disgust passed over Sebastian's face.

"But they can't die?"

"No. Just starve indefinitely."

Sebastian watched his master's face for some indication of what he thought but he seemed indifferent, just curious, nothing more. Sebastian was hoping for fear, disgust, discomfort, something a bit more...human.

"And where did you fit into this_ 'class system', _before you belonged to me?"

The question was unexpected and the butler smirked.

"Need you even ask, my lord? I wasn't a butler, that's for certain." Ciel regarded the other's suddenly smug demeanor, noting that it was only half of an answer.

"And now you are and always will be," Ciel remarked.

With that reminder the smugness was gone. Ciel thought he saw the beginnings of a glare but it disappeared as quickly as it came and the taller male smiled politely as he often did.

"Indeed, forever in service to my young master."

Ciel ignored him, not interested enough to ask the same question again. He knew Sebastian was very powerful, he had killed an angel at Ciel's beckoning and with ease while starved, injured and missing an arm. He was sure whatever the demon's rank had been it must have been high. He would press the matter another day.

He heard the 'clip-clop' of horse hooves and the rattle of carriages getting closer but when they reached the street with the traffic there were no horses. In their place were large six-legged beasts with long snouts, skeletal bodies and no eyes. They had hooves like horses but that was the only similarity. It sunk in finally that they really weren't in the living world anymore.

"Sebastian, I-..." his words were cut short as someone was suddenly in his way.

It was a child, no more than six or seven in appearance. She was dirty and gaudy, her blonde hair was braided on both sides with ribbons. Slowly she lifted her head to meet his gaze and despite the fact that he knew she wasn't really a child, Ciel felt a pang of pity in his chest and he failed to hide it in his eyes. Sebastian noticed this, surprised by it and so did the child. No one in Hell felt pity.

In an instant she gripped Ciel's forearm, her nails, now long and black, tore through his sleeve and dug into his skin. Before he or Sebastian could react she unhinged her jaw like a snake, to Ciel's horror, and chomped down, sinking her fangs into his arm.

"Sebastian!" Ciel cried out and the girl was wrenched off of his arm and sent flying down the street, crashing into a carriage.

Ciel's blood trickled down his arm, pooling on the footpath, he breathed heavily. Shakily he looked to his demon. The taller man was standing upright and perfectly still, his face averted from Ciel's view. He didn't move and he didn't speak.

"Sebastian...what's is it?" Ciel noticed a stir around him. The sickly figures were moving, some trying to stand, some crawling in his direction, all of them sniffing the air hungrily.

The smaller demon swallowed hard and stepped closer to his butler, fear rising in him though he tried to beat it back down. When Sebastian didn't instantaneous react to his call and pick him up like he normally would have his fear turned to panic.

"Sebastian?!"

"There you are..." he heard Sebastian whisper. The demon turned his head just slightly enough to meet his master's gaze, his eyes were glazed over, he looked...drunk?

* * *

Sebastian grasped the demon child's neck and violently yanked her from his master's arm, hurling her as far away as he could. He was about to reprimand himself for not foreseeing the assault when a sweet aroma caressed his senses. The blood spattered on his face, his master's blood was the source. A slender, inhuman tongue darted out to lap the scarlet droplets from his lips. He felt a very familiar intoxication wash over him and his eyes threatened to roll back into his head. He saw nothing, he heard nothing and he felt nothing in that moment but pure bliss.

"There you are..." he breathed out and turned his head lazily to look at his little master.

His master's soul, his human soul was still in there but it was hidden well, safely cloaked behind layers of demon. Whether his master had deliberately hidden it from him or not Sebastian couldn't say but regardless of the reasons he'd found it now. He suddenly wondered for the first time in two years, where had he imagined it had gone?

On the night his master had been changed by Hannah, no reaper had come to collect his soul and a soul couldn't be destroyed, even if eaten by a demon a soul was still eternal. Sebastian felt foolishness wash over him and a little shame too, perhaps. Ever since that night he had served his master as the contract demanded but the respect and reverence he had developed over the years for the human shrank away to be replaced with frustration, disappoint and mourning.

He had spent every night thereafter mourning the loss of a soul that was right in front of him the entire time. He blamed his new demon master for the loss of his human master but they were one in the same, weren't they? The butler in him felt a pang of guilt in his chest because now it was obvious that the smaller demon had been aware of Sebastian's new coldness towards him. He hid it well because their contract would never allow him to express it openly but there had been enough subtle changes in his demeanor to give it away. Truthfully, he had wanted to give it away, he wanted Ciel to know his sadness and his anger, he wanted to punish him.

He snapped out of his musings as a gloved hand impacted with his cheek. Ciel was slapping him, rather hard, and was now ordering him to wake up and obey. He composed himself quickly and took in the danger they were in.

Demons, who probably hadn't stirred an inch in years if not decades, had suddenly found motivation to move. Four of the nearest ones fell ungracefully into the pool of his master's blood, hungrily lapping it off of the ground.

Gently but swiftly the butler lifted the smaller demon into his arms, holding him close to his chest. Individually these grotesque creatures were like insects compared to Sebastian's power but in a frenzied, starving horde they would become a considerable threat. They couldn't _kill _his young master but they could tear the boy to pieces over and over again forever in a desperate attempt to consume his precious soul.

"Please, hold on tightly, my lord." he said, his voice a calm purr.

Ciel peered at him searchingly for a moment - immediately aware of the genuine softness in his tone - and then nodded his compliance, tightening his arms around the older demon's neck.

Sebastian's head was crystal clear and his reflexes back at their peak. He lashed out and tore through half a dozen bodies with a sickening crunch. The mangled piles of flesh and bone did nothing to dissuade the others, they felt no fear, only hunger. He sliced through another dozen, clearing a path back the way they came. Realizing he was robbing them of their meal the entire street relinquished their human forms, focusing all their energy on the upcoming chase.

He made a sharp turn and darted down a passage leading back to the bridge. The horde followed closely behind him, their collective power turning them into a stampede. They crushed each other against the walls of the alleyways, crumbling bricks and breaking windows. Some broke free of the crowd to scale the walls and jump across the rooftops, trying to pounce on the demon butler from above but he sliced through them with ease.

The bridge came into view and he sped up, putting some more distance between them. When he reached the other side he came to a sudden stop and turned to face the horde.

"Why are you stopping, Sebastian?!" Ciel sounded more fearful than he would have liked.

"Trust me, my lord." Sebastian said, giving the boy in his arms a reassuring smile that wasn't really appropriate for the danger they were in.

Ciel swallowed hard, the horde had reached the foot of the bridge now, they would soon be upon them. The urge to order Sebastian to get them out of there was on the tip of his tongue but he held it back.

Sebastian waited for the right moment and then stomped his foot down without much effort. Ciel felt the shockwave from the impact. There was a loud crackle and then the bridge was shattering, little cracks spreading across the length of it.

The first wave of demons noticed and tried to backtrack to safety but the swarm behind them pushed forward and the stone structure collapsed under their weight. They all tumbled over the side of the chasm, disappearing into the void below, screaming as they went. Some managed to dig their claws into the side, trying to pull themselves back up only to be shoved off by another. A couple tried to jump across the gap but never made it.

"We wouldn't want them following us through, now would we?" the butler explained, though he didn't need to.

"Take me away from here, Sebastian," his master ordered, burying his face in the crock of his servant's neck, not wanting to see any more. "I never want to be brought to this wretched place again."

"As you wish, my young lord," Sebastian nodded with a slight smile.

* * *

Sebastian blinked the memory away - or was it a dream?

It had been a long time since he had indulged in the luxury of sleep, he couldn't quite recall what it felt like. He blinked again, staring at the dark ceiling and then realized his master's soft hair was nestled against his neck and shoulder - the boy's hand was lightly fisted in his butler's white shirt. He didn't remember them maneuvering into this comfortable position.

The rhythmic purr of his master's breathing, vibrating into his own chest, beckoned him to dream some more but he couldn't sleep now. The memory of their visit to the underworld was a warning that he would have to deal with their stalker sooner rather than later.

Tenderly he slipped out from under his young master, being mindful not to wake him. He redressed himself fully, buttoning his waistcoat and sleeve cuffs tentatively. His uniform always served like a suit of armor when he went to battle - not that he intended on fighting but it was the most probably outcome of this confrontation.

Sebastian checked himself over in the mirror and headed for the door rather than the balcony. He paused in the corridor and he gave one last glance to his peacefully snoring master, amused by the other demon's vulnerability and completely inadequate demon senses and then closed the door as quietly as he could.

* * *

It's longer than I wanted it to be really but as much as I tried to condense it down this is the best I could do! I hope it wasn't too grueling for you, I'm certainly exhausted.


End file.
